MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. A senior Russian lawmaker has demanded that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Bundestag provide explanations concerning the leaked audio of German Bundeswehr officers discussing plans to attack the Crimean Bridge.
"Bundestag and Chancellor Scholz must provide explanations concerning plans of using German-made Taurus missiles to attack the Crimean Bridge. The scandal around the audio recording of Bundeswehr senior officers’ conversation is spinning up. The transcript leaves no room for doubts in the participation of German officers in combat operations on [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky’s side," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), wrote on his Telegram channel.
The lawmaker noted that there have been no commentaries from Germany’s authorities but "we have very serious questions to Berlin, especially bearing in mind Scholz’s statements about the refusal from supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine."
"Who actually sanctioned such negotiations between Bundeswehr officers and has Defense Minister Pistorius really ordered to look at sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine? Or is Scholz lying and Germany is over head and ears in the Ukrainian conflict or is he being deceived? Bundeswehr should better conduct a comprehensive probe into the role of German forces in the proxy war against Russia rather than writing resolutions calling for supplying Kiev with long-range weapons," he noted
Slutsky stressed that the Crimean Bridge is a civilian infrastructure facility and "the exposure plans of an operation to blow it up places Bundeswehr’s 'gallant soldier' on a par with terrorist and Ukrainian fascist Zelensky. With all the consequences that come with it. History teaches Berlin nothing," he added.
Leaked conversation
The RT broadcaster’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said earlier that on the very day when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that NATO was not participating and would not participate in the Ukrainian conflict, high-ranking German officers were discussing the possibility of attacking the Crimean Bridge in a way that would help avoid consequences for the German authorities. Simonyan said there was an audio recording of this conversation and later released the transcript of the leaked conversation, which indicates that the officers were discussing how much destruction Germany’s Taurus long-range missiles could cause to the Crimean Bridge as well as details of preparations for such an attack.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Kremlin was not yet aware of the contents of the leaked conversation. The issue will be reviewed at the next session of the Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said.